Abstract
BackgroundDue to ongoing political and social conflicts, the number of international refugees has been increasing. Refugees are exposed to severe mental and physical strain, as well as traumatic experiences during their flight. Therefore, the risk of psychiatric disorders is markedly increased among international refugees. International organizations have criticized the lack of early interventions as a key problem, because untreated mental disorders are often difficult to cure at a later stage. Today, exercise and sport have been successfully employed to treat a wide range of psychiatric disorders. With patients with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), very limited empirical evidence exists, and studies carried out with international refugees are nearly non-existent.MethodsWe intend to implement a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT) with an exercise and sport intervention group (n = 68, 50% women) and a wait-list control group (n = 68, 50% women) in the Koutsochero refugee camp, located close to the city of Larissa (Greece). During the RCT, exercise and sport will be offered five times per week (60 min/session) for 10 weeks. Participants will be asked to participate in at least two sessions per week. The programme is developed according to the participants’ needs and preferences and they will be able to choose between a range of activities. PTSD symptoms will serve as primary outcome, and several secondary outcomes will be assessed. Qualitative data collection methods will be used to gain a more in-depth appraisal of the participants’ perception of the intervention programme. In the second year of study, the programme will be opened to all camp residents. A strategy will be developed how the programme can be continued after the end of the funding period, and how the programme can be scaled up beyond the borders of the Koutsochero camp.DiscussionBy moving towards the primary prevention of chronic physical conditions and psychiatric disorders, a relevant contribution can be done to enhance the quality and quantity of life of refugee camp residents in Greece. Our findings may also strengthen the evidence for exercise as medicine as a holistic care option in refugee camps, by helping camp residents to adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle.Trial registrationThe study was registered prospectively on the 8 February 2021 with ISRCTN https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN16291983
Highlights
Due to ongoing political and social conflicts, the number of international refugees has been increasing
Our findings may strengthen the evidence for exercise as medicine as a holistic care option in refugee camps, by helping camp residents to adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle
The risk of psychiatric disorders is markedly increased among international refugees with particularities based on gender
Summary
Due to ongoing political and social conflicts, the number of international refugees has been increasing. International organizations have criticized the lack of early interventions as a key problem, because untreated mental disorders are often difficult to cure at a later stage. Médecins Sans Frontières [5] have criticized the lack of early interventions in refugee camps as a key problem, as many asylum seekers suffer from untreated mental disorders that are subsequently difficult to cure when settled in community settings in the country of destination. In a recent article on the mental health status of Syrian refugees, Al-Rousan and colleagues [6] emphasized a need for greater efforts to improve the mental health of refugee populations They argued that measures should go beyond clinical therapy offerings and that a particular attention should be payed to non-clinical interventions that can promote health and individual resources [7]
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